Master BlackBerry PlayBook Basic Gestures

You can accomplish just about anything you want on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet using one or sometimes two fingers. They’re called gestures. The active area for the touchscreen of the BlackBerry PlayBook extends beyond the visible screen to include the black frame (or bezel) that surrounds it.

Some PlayBook gestures start or end on the bezel while others are confined to the screen. The tutorial screens show you how to use the frame to initiate or end gestures.

Feel free to follow these basic gestures on your BlackBerry PlayBook if you’ve got one sitting next to this book.

Drag. To move an item from one place to another touch it and keep your finger in place on the item. Then slide your finger to where you want the item to reside. You can drag on the diagonal or you can move something up or down, left or right. When the item is where you want it to be, simply lift your finger from the screen.

Swipe. Touch the screen and keep contact with it as you slide your finger up or down, left or right. This swipe can be used to scroll through a list on the screen, move a web page one direction or another within the browser, spin through a stack of apps or icons, control a game, and do anything else a programmer assigns to that particular touch.

Pinch. To zoom in or out of a web page, or to enlarge or reduce the size of a picture or other content, touch the screen with the pointing finger and thumb of one hand and pinch together or apart. No rule says you have to use your pointing finger and thumb, or that they have to be from the same hand.

If you’re able to do this sort of digital gymnastics with other fingers, or perhaps your toes, more power to you.